Hannah knew it would be easy to drop to the ground and break down in tears. “You’ve got this,” she insisted, over and over. Despite her slow progress, she refused to give in.
After a time, Hannah’s competitors stopped appearing and it became clear she would, without doubt, place last. That was if the organisers weren’t already packing up ready to go home along with everyone else. Then she wouldn’t place at all.
Spotting a fallen tree, Hannah decided to rest her ankle for a moment, and limping over, she perched on its thick gnarled trunk. She considered the ride she’d been on those last weeks. Looking down at her injured ankle, Hannah knew that learning to run and breathe at the same time was the least of the lessons she’d learned.
She smiled. Some of the past month had been good, like getting to know Aunt Dorothy again.
Her smiled drooped. Some of it uncomfortable, like having to recognise it was time to broaden her horizons and set herself a new challenge. For her own sake as much as Beth and Archie’s. Hannah knew she’d micro-managed every aspect of their lives for far too long. She had to start delegating.
Hannah’s smile disappeared completely. Then there was the downright bad. Hannah appreciated Dorothy’s pep talk about forcing herself into difficult situations but when Carl had ended their marriage, Hannah had vowed never to let anyone hurt her again. If that meant closing herself off from matters of the heart, then that was what she had to do.
She pictured Beth and Archie as young children. Back then keeping her pledge had been simple. Her children’s needs came above all else and Hannah had had neither the time nor inclination to think about her own; a situation that she happily let continue. Then along came their trip to France, turning Hannah’s well-oiled routine and single status mindset into disarray.
“Hannah!”
She looked up to see Gabe, like a knight in shining armour, racing towards her. Her heart leapt but bringing it back to reality with a bump, her head told it to get a grip. That man had caused her the biggest turmoil of all.
“What happened?” Gabe asked.
As if her outstretched leg and makeshift crutch weren’t enough of a clue, Hannah frowned. “What do you think happened?” Convinced Gabe wore a hint of amusement as he plonked himself down next to her on the tree trunk, Hannah wondered what was so funny.
He indicated her foot. “Does it hurt?”
Another ridiculous question, Hannah considered. “Again, what do you think?”
A part of her felt bad for snapping at Gabe, but Hannah couldn’t seem to help herself. The last thing she wanted to do was join in with his idle chit-chat. In fact, as they both fell into silence, she didn’t want to talk to him at all.
“It’s not what you’re imagining,” Gabe said, at last breaking the quiet.
Knowing he was referring to his relationship with Kate, Hannah recalled the conditions of her bet with Dorothy, Mel, and Liv. She sighed. As a woman of her word, Hannah knew she’d have to listen to what Gabe had to say at some point, so she decided to get it out of the way.
“I don’t need to use my imagination, Gabe. Kate was very clear about who she is.”
“But that’s what I’m saying, Hannah. It’s not what you think.”
With the man talking in riddles, Hannah’s frustration grew. “So the two of you aren’t married?”
“No.” Gabe paused. “Well, technically, yes.”
Hannah wished he’d make his mind up. “It’s not a trick question. You either are or you aren’t.”
“Put it this way, we’re not divorced.”
Staring down at his hands, Gabe appeared as uncomfortable as Hannah felt. “You really aren’t making much sense.”
“I suppose what I’m trying to say is, Kate and I might still be married on paper, but that’s it. We split up a couple of years ago. Until she turned up the other night, I hadn’t seen her since. She moved away and after a while, I moved on. I had no idea she was even in town.”
Hannah scoffed. Having seen Kate’s name pop up on his phone, Hannah wasn’t about to accept that so readily. “And the calls?”
Finally, Gabe looked at Hannah. “What calls?”
Hannah raised her eyebrows. “The demanding client who happens to have the same name as your ex?”
“Oh.” Gabe sighed. “Those calls.” He twisted round on the trunk, angling himself towards Hannah. “You have to understand, for me, Kate’s decision to leave came from nowhere. At the time, I was devastated. I didn’t think I’d ever get over her.”
Thanks to Carl, Hannah understood that feeling all too well.
“Although now I can see she did me a favour, back then I was gutted. I suppose I didn’t want old wounds being ripped open again, if that makes sense?” He sounded desperate for Hannah to believe him. “It seemed easier to ignore her and hope she’d stop calling. That she’d just go away.” Gabe sighed. “I got that wrong, didn’t I?”
